Delta Air Lines Inc., the new owner of Northwest Airlines, will offer employees incentives to leave as it makes deeper cuts in 2009 flights.
Voluntary retirement and early-out packages will go to U.S. hourly and salaried workers, Chief Executive Officer Richard Anderson said in a message to employees. Atlanta-based Delta hasnโt said how many jobs it needs to shed as it pares seating capacity as much as 8 percent more in 2009.
โTo leave the capacity in the marketplace when thereโs not demand is not in anybodyโs best interest in the long run at Delta,โ Anderson said in a message recorded on Dec. 5. โThe economy is in tough shape. Thereโs no dispute.โ
His comments expanded on Deltaโs disclosure of the planned seating cuts on Dec. 2, when the Atlanta-based airline also said it would have โvoluntary programsโ to trim the payroll without specifying when they might start or what form they might take.
Enrollment will begin in January, and โwe hope to get as many volunteers as we need,โ Anderson said.
Delta used buyouts earlier this year to cut 4,000 jobs, or about 7.3 percent of the workforce before buying Northwest in October to become the worldโs largest airline. Delta has said its fourth-quarter U.S. capacity will shrink by 13 percent. Northwest eliminated 2,500 jobs, or 8.1 percent of its payroll.